Conditions for journalists in Iraq have deteriorated to the point where they now rely on local stringers and employees for newsgathering.
Reporter P. Mitchell Prothero for Dangerous Assignments, the bi-annual magazine of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)writes in his ‘Letter from Iraq’ article that journalists are now fixated on personal security.
News organizations have established themselves in compounds of private homes surrounded by blast walls, or in large hotel complexes with extensive security checkpoints. Such precautions, though not unique to the media, reflect a change from a year ago, when journalists preferred lower-profile, less-secure accommodations on the theory that it would make them less likely to be targets.
This bunker mentality has taken hold among the press corps in Iraq for a few reasons. Insurgents have attacked less-secure hotels once used by Westerners, including journalists. The U.S.-led coalition is largely indifferent to journalist safety, and Iraqi authorities and the public are openly hostile.
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www.cpj.org/Briefings/2004/DA_fall04/Iraq_Prothero_DA_fall04.html